Pyreflies and Petals : Rikku's Story
by runaway angel
Summary: It all began with that sphere of yours…" A twist to the FFX2 storyline with the effervescent Al Bhed as the heroine and another Al Bhed as the lost lover. ::Rikku x Gippal::
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer**: I don't own FFX-2. Square Enix does.

**A/N**: What if Square did push through with their original idea of having two versions for the FFX sequel: a Yuna version and a Rikku one? What would the Rikku one be like? Well, here's my take on its storyline.

Oh yeah. I just wanted to make this clear. **About 20% of this story is based on the actual storyline while the rest is a product of my imagination and my love for Gippel x Rikku.** "Gippel x Rikku?", you ask? Play the game and I'm sure you will think that they would make a cute couple too.

**Prologue**

It's a pity you weren't able to see it, Gippel. 

You've always loved machina.

The Vegna Gun, it will no longer bring fear and destruction amongst the people of Spira. 

We have destroyed it.

Machines are products of the ingenious minds and industrious hands of humans. Thus, they are not as invincible as they seem. They can be broken down into what they originally were… pieces.

If you were here, you would've been rejoicing at the sight of the countless parts of the Yevon weapon scattered everywhere. You would be running around, picking up all the pieces you can carry, screaming "Machina fest!" to no one in particular. You would be so happy and grateful you were here.

_But you're not._

"Rikku, there's no time to waste. Let's go."

I nodded my head as a reply. Paine was right. There was no time to waste. Shuin was waiting for us on the top. It was time to bring the Calm back to Spira, and make it eternal once and for all.

"Yu-Ri-Pa, starting mission." I whispered under my ragged breath. I uttered a silent prayer inside my mind as we leapt from stone to stone, running towards the top, running towards Shuin, running towards _you_.

"Yuna," Paine exclaimed as she suddenly stopped in her tracks. Seriousness and concern could be seen from her red eyes as they lingered at my cousin's form. "It's time."

Yunie looked at the raven-haired girl then at me and nodded. Bright white light surrounded her body as she lifted her arms in the air, her handgun aiming at the heavens. Pink rings glowed as they encircled her in a downward spiral. Once they reached her feet, darkness and smoke engulfed her body. All of a sudden, blue laser lights appeared in the background, a slender figure standing in the vertex. She stepped forward, her right hand catching the microphone in the air. She twirled and strike a pose, revealing her new purple and white dress, the Songstress dress.

_Lenne's spirit inside her, like Shuin's spirit inside you._

Paine and I went ahead, holding our weapons tightly. My feet halted in its tracks while my heart started to race.

"Gippel." Your name escaped my lips together with a sad sigh. 

"So, we meet again."

I shut my eyes tightly and violently shook my head, fighting the urge to cry. The black eye patch, the lavender sweater and loose purple pants, the black and red metal shoulder guards, the overly-gelled sunshine-blonde hair, the boyish charm, it was you! The body, the clothes, the looks, everything was yours, everything except for the soul that lingered inside. 

"Shuin." The woman in black standing beside me shot him a glare and swung her sword towards your possessed body. 

"I see you're not happy to see me. Don't worry. I assure you, this will be our last meeting. At least here in Spira." The voice, it sounded nothing like yours. Instead of your usual cool yet comical tone, it was anger, madness and loathing that lingered in it. An evil snicker had also replaced your usual mocking laughter. "After I defeat you fools, I will destroy Spira, this land filled with nothing but anger and strife! I will wipe away all the hatred in this world. There will no longer be divisions amongst the people. No more mindless battles will be fought. No more lives will be sacrificed." 

"You crazy bastard!" Paine shouted. Her suddenly high-pitched voice was shaky thanks to her anger. Shuin. Many lives were shed because of him. Disunity came upon the people of Spira because of him. Her past and present were shattered because of him. He was the epitome of pure evil and obliviousness.

Unable to control her rage any longer, she charged towards your form, only to be stopped by a soft voice coming from behind.

"Shuin."

Gentle footsteps from brown leather boots could be heard. A woman wearing a sleeveless purple top and an intricately designed black skirt came into view. The white ruffles from her blouse produced a muted sound as the chilly breeze blew towards our direction. 

It was Yuna. But in Shuin's eyes, it was another woman.

"Lenne?"

"I waited for you, Shuin. I waited for you for a thousand years. But you never came."

"I-I…"

"You need not explain. Let's go home, Shuin." She extended her hand towards him and continued, "Now we can finally rest… together."

Drawn by her softly-spoken words, Shuin's spirit blindly walked towards Yuna, leaving your body on the floor.

I quickly ran towards you and fell on my knees, cradling you in my arms. "Gippel," I cried as I held your lifeless form closer to my chest. My eyes brimmed with tears but I refused to cry and to believe what was happening. You couldn't be dead. No, you couldn't. "You monkey-ass! Wake up!!!" I started to slap your cheeks, hoping you would come around. "How the hell do you expect to keep up with your bad-ass reputation when you're here lying like a celery stalk?! Wake up!!! Wake up!!! Wake up!!!" Every wake up said, a gentle slap was done. "Wake up!!! Wake up!!! Wake up…" The last one sounded more like a plea than an order. It was then long fought-backed tears began to flow from my eyes, staining my cheeks and chest. My hand stopped from its slapping and rested on your pale cheek, caressing it gently.

"No…" I whimpered as my body started to tremble in disbelief and anxiety. "Fate couldn't be this cruel…" I just couldn't believe it. How I wish everything was just a dream, that we were still living in Home, enjoying all the Machina and teasing each other like crazy!

But it was no dream. Home was long gone. And so were you. I burrowed your head on my shoulder and sobbed incessantly on yours. I could hear Yuna and Shuin talking in the background. But I didn't understand their words. They were mere murmurs, muted by my weeping and the sadness and pain I was feeling.

"You're not Lenne!" My eyes fluttered open upon hearing his infuriated voice. I lifted my tear-stained face from your shoulder and saw Shuin shove Yuna towards the floor. 

"YUNA!!!" I screamed, catching the shadowy figure's attention. I froze and watched in horror as he walked towards me, a demented look in his face, his tainted sword ready to strike me.

_And that was when I heard your voice once again._

"Cid's little brat…"

My eyes shifted its gaze from the wicked shadow towards you. I felt the pain in my heart disappear as I heard your faintly-spoken words. Tears continued to spill but my lips curved in a smile. "Gippel…" I cried as I tightened my embrace on you. "Told ya to call me Rikku..."

A weak chuckle escaped your lips as you wrapped your arms around me, returning my embrace. My heart soared as I felt yours beat against my chest. The same heart sank in an eye's blink.

My eyes widen in horror as a deep moan escaped your lips together with something. Blood. Your head fell into a bow as your arms limped from your embrace. They were no longer around me, but still we were connected.

_No… _

His sword. It was the only thing holding us together. A gasp escaped my lips as I saw the pool of crimson below us.

_I cannot die yet._

A swarm of pyreflies of different colors emancipated from our form, their brilliant light blinding me, narrowing my eyes into slits.

_Nor can you._

Sea green and light pink. Glowing, circling around us. Our lifeless bodies floating in a pool of deep crimson. 

_You haven't heard my story._

Yuna crying. Paine screaming. Shuin snickering. A flurry of thoughts and memories flashing before my eyes.

_It all began with that sphere of yours…_

***flashback***

**A/N**: Though I doubt he would get to read this, I'd like to thank Seph of the Unofficial FFX-2 Translation site. Without him, I wouldn't be able to come up with this. Thank you. 


	2. YuRiPa

**Chapter 1 : YuRiPa**

"Yuna! Rikku! We've detected a treasure sphere!" 

A sudden rush of excitement filled my soul as I heard Buddy's words. Finally, a new mission for us sphere hunters. We were the Gullwings, a bunch of Al Bhed folks into what else? Sphere-hunting! 

"What's its location?" Yuna asked.

Yuna, she was basically the reason why the Gullwings were formed. About a month ago, while I was visiting Mount Gagazet for a Machina teaching, Kimahri approached me and showed me a sphere he had found along the icy tracks of the mountain. Recorded in it was a guy trapped in something that seemed like a cage. My eyes widened in shock after watching it. The guy, he looked so much like Tidus! Could it be that he was alive? Well, one thing was for sure. Yuna had to see it. So I went to Besaid the next day and showed the sphere to Yunie and tubby ol' Wakka. After some hesitation from the latter and much convincing from me, Yunie agreed to go on a journey, a journey to find Tidus. But we couldn't do it alone. We needed help from other people.

"Kilika forest," Shinra answered.

Shinra, he's the sharpest kid in the Al Bhed tribe. With his vast knowledge on spheres and Spira's history, we knew that he would be a great asset to our team. So we asked him to help us. He agreed to do so. Shinra wasn't purely brains, you see. He also had a big heart.

"All right! Kilika island, here we come!" Brother enthusiastically shouted as he veered our airship towards the tropical island.

Brother of course agreed to help us. He was carrying a torch for Yunie (which I think was kinda stupid because everyone knew that Yunie's heart contained only Tidus). He even convinced his friend, Buddy, to join us. And not only that, he also had a new airship built. Just for our mission to find Tidus! That day, the Gullwings were born. We kissed machina-hunting goodbye and waved hello at our new line of work, sphere-hunting!

As soon as the Celcius landed, Yunie and I excitedly ran off, only to be stopped by the island's new appearance. 

"Wow…" we sighed as we gazed at the city. Kilika was much different from before. Not a trace of Sin's attack could be seen! Houses everywhere, bridges and boats! They've made all this progress thanks to the help of the Youth Alliance, New Yevon's opposition group.

Ever since the Calm started, different groups emerged and divisions among the people occurred. The two most popular and powerful groups were the New Yevon Movement and the Youth Alliance. The first was a group of faithful Yevon followers while the latter was a group of people against them. There were also people caught in between the two, like the villagers of Kilika and Yuna. The two groups have been asking for Yunie's support ever since they were established, knowing that she was the great lady summoner who defeated Sin and all. But Yunie refused to take neither side. Personally, I'd go with the Youth Alliance. Yevon still gives me the creeps!

"What the heck are you two standing there for?!? Go get the sphere!!!" An irate Brother cried in the other end of this transmitter Buddy built. With it, the airship crew (Brother, Buddy and Shinra) can contact us while we were out doing missions. Neat, huh? It's one of the perks of being in the Al Bhed tribe. You get so many hi-tech stuff!

"Alright, Alright," I whined. Yunie and I unsheathed our weapons and made our way towards the woods. 

The forest was quiet. Only the sound of the hustling leaves could be heard. And then…

"Excalibur!!!"

Alarmed and curious, I asked Yuna whose voice was that.

"I don't know, but whoever she is, she might need our help! Let's go!"

"Yeah. Gullwings to the rescue!" I enthusiastically exclaimed. We took the middle path and a huge Ochu came into our view. Behind the monster was a woman clad in black wielding a sharp sword. Whoever the lady was, she must've been crazy! Why would anyone engage a battle with an Ochu alone? I charged towards the Ochu's back and sliced it with my twin daggers. I expected the damage to be big considering that it was a back attack and I strike it twice. But to my surprise, the Ochu didn't take any damage. It was already dead.

The plant monster fell onto the ground and vanished into the air. The strong and mysterious woman threw us a quick smirk and started to walk away, a red orb in her hands.

"Wait!" I cried as I saw the glimmer in the sphere she was holding. She halted in her tracks and faced us once again. "That was some fight there, huh?" I said, trying to start a conversation. I was very curious about the woman and the sphere she had in tow. Could it be the treasure sphere Buddy had located?

Silence was her only reply.

"Uhh… Would you like a cure spell?" Yuna interjected. "You must have gained some injuries from that fight with the powerful Ochu."

"No need for one," she coldly replied, her red eyes showing no emotion at all.

"Oh, okay," Yuna replied, a tinge of sadness in her voice. "Are you a sphere hunter?"

"What made you think that I am one?"

My eyes pointed at the sphere she was holding. "We're the Gullwings. We're sphere hunters too! Can we take a look at it?"

She shook her head and leveled her hand with her chest. "It's broken," she uttered as her gloved palm revealed the broken orb. It turns out, it was only half of a sphere.

"Oh…" Yuna sighed. 

I watched the raven-haired girl nod goodbye and walk away. For some reason, I was bothered by the little encounter. I knew there was something about her and that sphere. Whatever it was, it made me shout, "If you want, we can help you find the other half!"

"No thanks. I can find it on my own," she said, her back still facing us.

"Really? Well, do you have a sphere detector and an airship?" a grinning Yuna boasted.

"Hmph." She stopped in her walk and placed her right hand on her waist, shaking her head. "Alright, I'll join you."

"Yay! Mission completed!" Yuna and I enthusiastically ran towards her form, excited about the new Gullwing and sphere. "My name's Rikku. This is my cousin, Yuna. And you're…?"

"Paine."

"Yuna, Rikku and Paine. Hmm… YuRiPa!"

"YuRiPa?" Yunie tilted her head, her index finger tapping her lips. The same finger pointed at the sky as she shouted, "I like that!". Huge smiles curved our lips as we gave each other high fives, happy about our new name. Paine, on the other hand, just shook her head. Unlike Yunie and I, Paine seemed so emotionless and distant. I wonder why. Well, I guess that's another project for me! Find out what's making her one bottled-up girl and make her smile! 

"Are you two going to dance around all day or are we going to look for the other half of this sphere?" the red-eyed girl interrupted, her right eyebrow raised, her arms folded across her chest.

"Oops. Sorry. I guess we got a little carried away, heheh," an embarrassed me said while smiling and scratching my head. I laid my hand on the nearby save sphere and chose the second option, the option to return to the Celcius.

_A new sphere, a new ally, a new mission and a new chapter… a new chapter to my story._


	3. Gippel

**A/N: _Bold and italicized lines such as this one are dialogues from a movie sphere._**

**Chapter 2 : Gippel**

We stood inside the Celcius' cockpit, not speaking or moving, just staring at the broken orange orb as it glowed in Shinra's hand. Scratching my head with my index finger, I bit my lower lip and asked, "You mean we can still play it?"

"Yes. But it won't be as clear as usual spheres are," the whiz kid replied.

"Oh." Yuna frowned.

"Famm, fryd yna oui kioc cdyhtehk drana vun?! Let's watch the sphere!!!" shouted Brother. Even if Brother can now speak in English (thanks to Yunie), he still speaks in Al Bhed. I can't blame him. It is our native tongue.

"Bmyo ed," Paine said out of the blue. She can speak Al Bhed? Geez. This woman sure was full of surprises!

_Little did I know that even more surprises were heading my way._

"Here we go!" Shinra exclaimed as he played the sphere. Everyone kept silent as a blurry scene came into view. Machine gun blasts could be heard as well as monster cries. Whoever was shooting or crying, we couldn't see. The camera was focused on the sky and the sand.

**_"I can hardly see a thing."_**

"Neither can I," I whined. "Whoever took this footage sure was an amateur! The angle's all dodgy and the sand's all we can see!"

"And the men's boots." Yuna added.

"Hmph." Paine ran her gloved fingers across her raven hair and said, "You can't blame her. They're in a battleground." 

"A battleground?" I asked, a hint of confusion in my tone and face. "Why would anyone take a video of themselves while fighting?"

"Especially in such a monster-filled place," continued Yuna.

**_"Look out!"_** The loud cry of another man caught our attention, cutting our conversation to a close. Because the video was very blurry and poorly focused, all we could see was another shadowy figure clad in green jumping over the man who spoke earlier (I recognized his boots). Then suddenly, an explosion blew off where the first man was originally standing. If I'm not mistaken, it was from a frag grenade.

**_"Thanks, man. Ugh… I knew I should have brought my grenades with me,"_** said the first man. That voice… it sounded so familiar. Who was it?

**_"Why?"_** another voice joined in the two's conversation**_. "Can't handle the monsters with a machine gun?"_** Whoever the man was, valor and professionalism could be heard in his rich and deep tone. 

**_"Heck, no!"_** cried the first voice. It was then that realization hit the recorder— cameras should be focused at the persons speaking, not on their boots or the gazillion particles of sand! Slowly, it shifted its focus from the sand towards the owner of the voice, traveling from the man's black boots to his deep purple pants to his lavender long-sleeved shirt and finally, his face.

The black eye patch, the overly-gelled sunshine-blonde hair, the annoying smirk, it was… "Gip-"

"-pel," finished Yuna. "It's Gippel!"

"You know him?"

"I met him in Home. Remember during our journey against Sin, the Al Bhed kidnapped me?"

"Heh. Sorry about that, Yuna," Brother apologized.

"No, it's alright. I know you guys did it for my own good." The brown-haired girl flashed a grateful smile at Brother, making him go nuts. Silly Brother. Yuna went on saying, "Anyway, I met Gippel there. He's such a funny and friendly guy. You're so lucky to have him as your boyfriend."

My eyes widened in shock as I heard her last sentence. "MY WHAAAAAT?!?"

"Your boyfriend! He told me the two of you were dating."

"WHAAAAAT?!?"

"Yo, Rikku! What's with all the WHAAAATs?" Buddy asked, mimicking my shocked cries.

"That bastard Gippel told Yunie that I was his girlfriend!!!" I cried.

"You mean you aren't?" Shinra asked.

"No need to keep it a secret and deny it, Rix," Brother exclaimed as he placed his arm around my shoulder. "Everyone in the tribe knows about you two."

"And he is kinda cute," giggled Yuna.

With amazing and newly-discovered strength, I pushed Brother away from me and angrily stomped towards the computer screen. My eyes burned with exasperation as I stared at your form. Just when I was about to punch your image, the video ended. Silly of me to forget that it was only half of a whole sphere. I pulled my hair out of frustration instead and screamed, "He IS NOT my boyfriend!!! We haven't even seen each other for almost two years now. Ooooh… that meanie!!!"

"Don't worry, Rikku. We're gonna find the other half of this sphere and your lover!" Paine said in a fake sympathetic tone which was dripping with sarcasm.

"And you're not alone. I miss Tidus too, you know," exclaimed Yuna as she patted my shoulder, trying to comfort me (Comfort me because of what? Because of the loss of my so-called boyfriend?! ). A determined Yuna continued, saying "We're gonna find them. I know we will." 

I listened to her softly-spoken words, a deep red blush (an angered blush, mind you!) creeping up my cheeks. My eyebrows almost meeting, I gritted my teeth and gave in to my aggravation.  "THAT MONKEY-ASS!!!" I cried, my breathing ragged because of sheer anger. "I'm gonna find him and MAKE HIM PAY!!!"

_And that little sphere sparked the start of a lot of new chapters in my story. And who would have guessed that all of those chapters would revolve around you…_


	4. Dreamland

**A/N**: I never thought I'd ever continue writing this. I was actually in the process of finishing this Cloud x Yuffie fic I'm writing but for some reason, I ended up doing this instead. Wow. Gipryus are so popular now, huh? 8 months ago there were only 2 Rikku x Gippel fanfics here in FF.net. Both were mine. Very few people paid attention to them. But now… Wow. It's so nice to see that I'm not the only one who thinks Rikku and Gippel belong together. ^_^

Pardon my use of the Japanese names. I've gotten used to them already. I haven't played the English version yet, you see. Still waiting for FFX-2 International + Last Mission. -_-

Anyway, on with the fic!

**Chapter 3 : Dreamland**

It was way past my bedtime but still I was awake. How in the world can one sleep when a thousand questions and thoughts are shooting from all directions inside her angry mind? I was so pissed. I couldn't believe you told everyone back at home that we were dating… _I couldn't believe you were still alive._

Do you still remember when we were kids? We were the best of enemies back then. You would always play practical jokes on me and tease me like crazy! I'd end up crying and you'd stick your tongue out and call me Cid's little brat. There was this one time I couldn't take your banter anymore. I fought the urge to cry. I punched you instead. I punched you so hard that you ended up having a black eye. That was the first time I saw you cry. It was also the last time I saw both of your green pools. After that little incident, you started wearing your black eye patch. You would always say that it was a sign of _bad-ass-ness_, that it was the in-thing, yada-yada-yada. But deep inside, I knew you were just embarrassed of your little black eye courtesy of yours truly. I just can't help but wonder why you never took it off.

I cannot forget the second and last time I saw you cry either. It was also the last time I saw you— exactly two years ago. Something was wrong with you that day. You were so quiet and motionless. You didn't talk nor did you work with your machina. Such was a rare occurrence for you, the loudmouth machina freak. Of course I was bothered by your weird behavior but I didn't bother finding out what was up with you. It could've been one of your gazillion practical jokes. You never did grow up.

The day passed by without us bumping into each other. Then, night came. I was about to go to bed when I heard a knock on my door. Grumbling, I staggered towards it and to my surprise, it was you.

"What in the world is up with you?!" I cried. "It's almost midnight. What do you want?!"

"I just… I just wanted to see you. That's all."

"Haha. Rrright. Do you actually believe I'd fall for this practical joke of yours?"

"No— it's true! I just wanted to see you and… and give you this." You quickly handed me a little box.

"Wha? What's this for?"

"Nothing. Just open it when you wake up, alright? Good b— good night, Rikku." You surprised me by giving me a quick peck on the lips. I was totally caught off guard. The normal me would have pushed you away (Heck, the normal you wouldn't even dare kiss me!). But I didn't. I just stood there and smiled. As much as I hate to admit it, it felt nice. 

Suddenly shy, I stared at the ground, quietly giggling in my thoughts. Just when I was ready to face you again, you looked away. The darkness could conceal our blushed cheeks but not the crystals on your face. You were crying.

"Gippel…" Your name escaped my lips like a soft sigh. "What's wrong?"

You forced a smile on your face and shook your head. You rested your head on top of mine and whispered, "Take good care of yourself, Rikku". 

My eyes were beginning to water as I felt an explosion of mixed emotions inside my heart. My golden lashes met and a single tear stained my cheek. 

"Tell me what's wrong, Gippel."

"Nothing," you assured me. You placed a light kiss on my forehead and started to walk away.

"Where are you going?" I cried, causing you to stop in your tracks.

"Dreamland." The word escaped your lips together with a sigh. "I'll see you there".

Thinking you were talking about getting some sleep, I nodded, threw you a small smile, and watched you walk away. I told myself that nothing was wrong— that you prolly just wanted to say sorry for our crazy past. I even laughed at myself for almost crying. I laughed even harder as my mind wandered over your surprising yet sweet gestures. How ironic it was that the first kiss I would receive was from you of all people. I couldn't really describe how it felt. But one thing was for sure; it really made my heart soar and smile. Such a weird but lovely night, it was indeed.

Sleepiness had finally cast my thoughts away. Next thing I knew, the sun was already up. Rubbing my eyes and releasing a yawn, I got up from my bed and started to walk towards my bathroom. A little box on my bedside table caught my attention. It was the package you gave me last night. Curiosity begged me to open it and so I did. Inside was a feather earring in my favorite colors, orange and yellow. It was so cute! I rushed outside to look for you and thank you but you were nowhere to be found. I asked everyone where you were but they just shook their head. 

"Perhaps he's in his room." I told myself. I hurried to your room and excitedly shouted your name. An empty room greeted me.

_You didn't only leave Home that day… You also left me._

I tried to convince myself that it was just another one of your jokes. I tried hard not to cry. But I couldn't. The tears just kept on flowing. I couldn't deceive myself with poor excuses and lies. You were gone. The late night visit, the earring, those tears, and those kisses— they were all making sense now. You wanted to say goodbye before you left. 

That day we last saw each other— it was also the day of my first heartbreak.

I didn't want anyone to know about my sorrow so I sheathed myself with thick walls of sunshine. I was the effervescent Rikku, right? Rikku is always optimistic. Rikku is always smiling. Rikku never cries— especially over a nincompoop named Gippel!

_But sadly, she does. She does so every night. See? She's crying right now._

I angrily wiped my tears away with the back of my palm. Two years have passed and still I'm crying over you. You're too selfish. You left me scarred and broken-hearted and still you want my tears. I closed my eyes tightly releasing a flood of tears… hoping to see _you_ in _dreamland_.


End file.
